Entry No. 26 — the Albuquerque file — filed under: giant sculpture
Mesa del Sol Giant Rattlesnake Median Sculptures
Spanning nearly 200 feet long each, two giant rattlesnakes sculpted from concrete and hundreds of river cobblestones slither through the median of University Boulevard. Created in 2007 by Sites Southwest, these six-foot-tall scaled serpents require zero irrigation while guarding the entrance to Mesa del Sol.
The story
When the City of Albuquerque brought in landscape architecture firm Sites Southwest to landscape the wide median on University Boulevard SE leading up into Mesa del Sol, they hit the designers with a strict catch: zero irrigation. You can't maintain manicured grass or thirsty shrubs on a sun-baked mesa without piping in constant water. So landscape architect George Radnovich and his team stopped thinking about greenery and started thinking about what actually thrives in dry dirt. Completed in 2007, the solution was a pair of nearly 200-foot-long rattlesnakes slithering straight down the center of the road.
Standing six feet tall at the head, the twin serpents require zero water while acting as land art and sentinels for the Mesa del Sol development. Look close and you'll see how the scale pattern works: workers embedded hundreds of individual river cobblestones into shaped concrete forms to mimic diamondback skin. They blend so naturally into the high-desert dirt that you might miss them at speed, but up close they give the impression of two massive reptiles permanently sunning themselves between lanes of commuter traffic.
What it's like
You'll spot them snaking along the dirt median on University Boulevard SE near Rio Bravo Boulevard, but don't expect a visitor center or a parking lot. You have to pull off carefully onto the wide gravel shoulder, pop your hazard lights on, and wait for a break in traffic to step across into the median. Up close, traffic noise rattles past as you walk along the concrete bodies and trace the rounded river stones with your fingers. Head over right around sunset, when the low-angle light catches every ridge in the stone hide and turns the median desert into long shadows.
The move: Take a sunset drive down University Boulevard SE toward Mesa del Sol, pulling over safely nearby to walk up and inspect the river stones that form the rattlesnake skin.
- 📍 Mesa del Sol / South Valley
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: University Blvd SE & Rio Bravo Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge — Pair these waterless concrete serpents with real South Valley wildlife and night-sky stargazing just three miles west.
- Cruising San Mateo ("Chevy on a Stick") — Follow up your roadside reptile stop with another piece of Albuquerque median art—a 1954 Chevy hoisted on a 26-foot tile arch.
- May Café Lumberjack ("Fidel" the Bunyan Mutant) — Keep the oversized roadside oddity run going by heading north to see a 25-foot fiberglass lumberjack towering over a parking lot.
- UNM Meteorite Museum — Drive straight north up University Boulevard to trade earthly stone sculptures for real extraterrestrial specimens on the UNM campus.
Good to know
Where are the Mesa del Sol rattlesnakes located?
They slither through the center median of University Boulevard SE near Rio Bravo Boulevard SE, about a quarter-mile south of I-25.
Is there a parking lot to view the sculptures?
No. There is no official parking lot or pull-off. Visitors pull off onto the gravel road shoulder or park along nearby side streets and walk over carefully.
How much does it cost to visit and what are the hours?
It is completely free and located in an open public median, making it accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What are the giant snakes made of?
They were built using concrete bases covered with hundreds of hand-set river cobblestones arranged to imitate the diamond pattern of rattlesnake scales.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: worldrecordacademy.org · loc.gov
last checked: 2026-07-21